The Indian Navy Torpedo Recovery Vessel That Sank

The navy just put out these pictures of A-72, the Astravahini-class torpedo recovery vessel that sank off the east coast of India last evening, perhaps the first images of the ship performing its primary task. The sole casualty in the incident so far has been identified as POME James Jacob, whose body was recovered yesterday during SAR ops. Four more — one officer and three sailors — are still missing. 24, including commanding officer Lt Cdr Rohan Kulkarni were rescued by the navy last night. Nine ships, a P-8I, a Seaking and other helos continue their search in desperate hope. Here’s the navy’s statement update out a moment ago:

A full scale Search and Rescue (SAR) operation has been launched by the Indian Navy for the four personnel reported missing in a mishap involving a Torpedo Recovery Vessel (TRV A-72) of Indian Navy, which sank off the coast of Visakhapatnam at around 2000h last evening. Nine ships of the Eastern Fleet and a few aircraft including Boeing P8I, Dorniers, Sea King 42C and Chetak helicopters have been deployed through the night to search for the missing personnel. At the time of the incident there were 29 personnel on board. One sailor has lost his life during the rescue operation and four personnel (one officer and three sailors) are still reported missing. Twenty four personnel have been rescued safely by the Search and Rescue (SAR) ships dispatched to the area. As per the initial reports, the probable reason for sinking of the vessel seems to be ingress of sea-water (flooding) in the Engine Room and Aft Steering Compartment of the vessel. A Board of Inquiry headed by a Captain has been constituted to investigate into the circumstances leading to the mishap. TRV is an auxiliary vessel which is used to recover practice torpedoes fired by fleet ships and submarines. The ship is 23 meters long and 6.5 meters at the beam. This ship was built by Goa Shipyard Limited in 1983 and has served the Indian Navy for the last thirty one years.

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5 Comments on "The Indian Navy Torpedo Recovery Vessel That Sank"

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Kraken

2 years 1 month ago

May the Sailor rest in peace.

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Sarath Kumar

2 years 1 month ago

That ship is positively ancient.

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Anonymous

2 years 1 month ago

Building big armed forces requires big money. I do hope Government has provided enough money for maintenance. It is tragic to lose young men in peace time.

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Anonymous

2 years 1 month ago

How does one refrain from profanities under such circumstances ? Just look at this :- a ) Subs are old and they explode . But we shall not buy. b ) Migs have happily left for their heavenly abode . But they shall not be replaced . c ) Light choppers for our troops in high areas live dangerously and die easily when faced with strong elements of nature . But we will thwart all attempts to even consider new ones . d ) No artillery for our soldiers . We conveniently black list all suppliers. e ) Jawans spend… Read more »